Jack Kingston

Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA-1) has been named as the recipient of the “Friend of Farm Bureau” award, given during every Congress by the American Farm Bureau Federation.  Eligibility for the award is determined by the voting records of legislators who support the Farm Bureau‘s positions on specific votes.  Nominated by Georgia Farm Bureau, Kingston received the award based on his loyal support of Georgia farmers and his work on the Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007, commonly known as the “farm bill.”

Farm Bureau is an independent, non-governmental, voluntary organization governed by and representing farm and ranch families united for the purpose of analyzing their problems and formulating action to achieve educational improvement and economic opportunity.  Farm Bureau is local, county, state, national and international in its scope and influence and is non-partisan in character.  The bureau strives to lend a voice to agricultural producers at all levels.

 “I am honored that Georgia Farm Bureau feels that I am a friend to the Georgia farmer,” said Congressman Kingston.  “Agriculture is the economic backbone of our great state, but the impact of the contributions of Georgia farmers reaches the rest of our nation and many countries around the world.  I have worked hard to be an advocate of farmers and ranchers during my time on the agriculture subcommittee and will continue to work with Farm Bureau on these important issues.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation was founded in 1919 by a small group of farmers from 30 states.  Their goal was to create a voice for themselves by forming a national organization.  Farm Bureau soon became the voice of agriculture at the national level.  While the organization has faced many issues and challenges over the past 80 years, the mission and goals of Farm Bureau have remained the same; a concern in speaking out on issues of concern for the nation’s farmers and ranchers.  To learn more about the American Farm Bureau Federation, visit http://www.fb.org.

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Nation’s oldest taxpayer organization honors congressman for fiscally sound record

Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA01) today earned the nation’s top tax policy award after being named a “Tax Fighter” by the National Tax Limitation Committee (NTLC).  The NTLC, the nation’s oldest taxpayer organization, presented Congressman Kingston with the award for his fiscally sound voting record.

“America owes much of her prosperity to a low tax structure,” Congressman Kingston said.  “In order to get out of this economic crisis, I’ll continue pushing for lower taxes.  Income redistribution schemes will do nothing more than kill jobs and would signal a new era of socialism in America.  I appreciate NCLT’s work and will continue fighting for our shared values of lower taxes and less government interference in our lives.”

The National Tax Limitation Committee scored some 39 House votes, placing special emphasis on tax, budget and spending measures that would have a major impact on long-term taxing and spending programs of the government.  Votes were selected to provide insight to the legislator’s philosophy with respect to government regulation, private property rights, federalism and the size of the federal government.  Each vote was weighed and tallied to present an accurate “fiscal responsibility” score.

“Congressman Kingston has led the battle on behalf of taxpayers on behalf of taxpayers,” said NTLC President Lewis Uhler.  “He has been a major asset to taxpayers across America during his congressional service and has had the courage to challenge the orthodoxy of Washington spending and earmarks.  From making permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, to eliminating the death tax, to killing the Alternative Minimum Tax, and providing incentives for private savings, investment and job creation, Congressman Kingston has earned an ‘A’ grade for taxpayers.”

The National Tax Limitation Committee was organized in 1975 to seek constitutional and other limits on taxes, spending and deficits at the federal, state and local levels of government.   NTLC has led the national movement for constitutional tax and spending limits at the state and local levels.

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For more information on Jack’s efforts to lower taxes, click here.

Less than a week after rejecting a similar bill, the House today passed a bailout intended to shore up the nation’s financial markets.  Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA-1), who voted against the package both times, expressed concerns that the bill will not accomplish the task at hand.

“Rather than righting the ship, we’ve run for the lifeboats,” Congressman Kingston said.  “While the core bill has been improved since Monday, I’m still unconvinced it will avert an economic downturn.  I hope I’m wrong but suspect we will be back soon for further debate.  The economy will remain my highest priority and I will continue to fight for the alternatives not included in this bill.”

Largely the same as the version the House previously rejected, the bill authorizes the Treasury Department to spend up to $700 billion in a Troubled Asset Relief Program to purchase “toxic” mortgage-backed securities.  It also gives the Treasury Secretary the option to create an insurance program for the securities in which participating companies would be required to pay premiums.  Participating firms would be subjected to executive pay restrictions, limits on “golden parachutes” for departing executives, and would allow the government to take equity stake in their company.

Changes to the bailout, added by the Senate which passed the measure overwhelmingly on Wednesday evening, included a provision allowing banks that held Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to count any losses as ordinary losses against their income.

The Senate also added tax provisions that extended breaks for producers of renewable energy, an Alternative Minimum Tax patch that prevents 22 million taxpayers from paying a tax originally meant for the wealthy and optional deduction for state sales taxes.  The package also included tax earmarks that for such things as rum production in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, wooden arrows for children, and NASCAR racetracks.

Public outcry against the bailout was unprecedented.  Calls from constituents strained the Capitol’s phone systems and caused crashes of several websites as well as email services.  In an effort to better educate his constituents about the issue, Congressman Kingston created a website locate at http://kingston.house.gov/bailout to provide timely information.  Meant to serve as a clearinghouse, the website contains bill text, summaries, and analysis as well as opinion pieces, press coverage, and multimedia.

The President must now sign the bill into law before it is enacted.
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Georgia’s Republican House members released the following statement after unanimously voting against the $700 billion bailout bill:

“These are challenging times for our country — citizens everywhere recognize that our economy is in peril. We have the largest and the most complex economy in the world, and we must approach this crisis with an eye toward the consequences of acting incorrectly.  What we do here will have a lasting impact on the course of our nation now and for future generations — so we have an obligation not just to get this done quickly but to get it done right.”

“We concluded this bill didn’t pass the test when it came to doing it right. We’re thankful the economic rescue portion of today’s legislation is markedly improved from Secretary Paulson’s initial request, thanks to Sen. John McCain and other conservative leaders. Nevertheless, we remain deeply concerned that today’s action could drastically and permanently enlarge the federal government’s role in our capitalist economy.”

“We are not convinced that this legislation is the best answer for hard-working taxpayers. We cannot preserve our free-market economy by sacrificing the very principles that underlie it.  Over the past week, we have heard loud and clear from many of the almost 5 million Georgians that we represent — and they are not convinced that this approach is the right one. They want to preserve our financial system, but demand that we think more about the taxpayer in developing the solution.”

“We agree that something must be done. As a delegation, we have fought for constructive improvements and common-sense, free-market alternatives. We fully recognize that inaction is not an option. We have advocated for:

Taxpayer protections to ensure our citizens are not indebted by multibillion dollar commitments.�
Private participation and market alternatives so those who caused this problem can be a part of the solution.
A viable exit strategy so we do not burden future generations with a massive and lasting bureaucracy.

“We wanted a ‘workout,’ not a ‘bailout.’  This is the direction that should have been taken, for the sake of taxpayers and future generations.”

A group of Republican lawmakers re-iterated their opposition to the Paulson bailout plan in a letter to Congressional leaders today. 

“We hope that you will join us on behalf of the American taxpayer in sending the Treasury Secretary a strong message that his unfair $700 billion bailout plan is a non-starter with the American people,” said the lawmakers.

In place of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, the lawmakers are seeking reforms that protect the American taxpayer while shoring up our nation’s financial institutions.  A core part of the alternative plan would enable the Federal Reserve to spend up to $250 billion using a preferred equity with warrants arrangement.  Many provisions of the current package would also be retained, including an increase in FDIC insurance. 

Representatives Devin Nunes (CA), Thaddeus McCotter (MI), John Carter (TX), John Shimkus (IL), Jack Kingston (GA), Darrell Issa (CA), Trent Franks (AZ), Lynn Westmoreland (GA), and Bill Sali (ID) signed the letter which was delivered prior to Senate passage of the Paulson plan.

To learn more about where Jack stands on the bailout, click here.

Jack joined with Congresswoman Virginia Foxx today to call on House negotiators to consider implementing a house purchase income tax credit in any bailout package.  The idea was proposed to Jack and Dr. Foxx by John Allison from BB&T (letter here).

To read the letter, click below:

To see a list of other alternatives Jack believes should be considered in any bailout package, click here.

To learn more about the package and where Jack stands, click here.

Given his extensive knowledge in the areas of taxes, business, and finance, Georgia’s Republican House members (The “G7″) sent the following letter to House Minority Leader Boehner and House Minority Whip Blunt asking that they appoint Georgia Congressman John Linder to the working group negotiating the financial bailout.

 From the letter:

Congressman Linder’s expertise and experience in finance, tax policy, and business would be of great value.  He understands well the serious concerns of many House Republicans and has advocated for a more deliberate approach to the negotiations – one which we believe will serve the American people well.

To read the full letter, click below:

 To learn more about the bailout and see what Jack’s said about it, click here.